Voice for Change!

Jennifer Stensrud, myself, and Jean Keating are presenting on May 17th about Toastmasters and its value to those who want to change the world for the better:

Voice for Change!

This special seminar has been created for those dedicated to making the world a better place.

Do any of the following describe you?

You want to take your cause to the next level, but public speaking is a barrier.

People in your movement understand your cause perfectly, but you have a harder time explaining it to the “unconverted.”

You want others in your organization to be able to communicate well to move your cause forward.

Three visionary voices will come together to share how Toastmasters can help you and others find their powerful voice.


Details: May 17th at 9:15am to 10:30 am at The Marsh, 15000 W. Minnetonka Boulevard, Minnetonka. Marshwinds Toastmasters meets in the Fireside Room, adjacent to The Marsh restaurant. All are welcome!

Contact: Shaun Jamison at (952) 933-1088 or shaun@ guideonyourside.com for more information or to get directions.

Reflections on being Realistic

I gave another speech today. I have lost count of the number of speeches I have given, yet each one is a special experience. Today's topic was goal setting.

While a Toastmaster member usually writes their own speech, this one was based on a pre-written speech for a Toastmasters educational program. I re-wrote it to serve my own style and one thing that begged for re-writing was the requirement that goals be "realistic."

You may be familiar with SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic and Time-bound. The trouble with being realistic is that you can talk yourself out just about any worthwhile goal.

My advice: Find a way to make your UNrealistic goals, realistic! Break them down into steps that you have some control over. Remember to enjoy the entire process from the idea to planning to implementation to that final success!

Do NOT be afraid to be UNrealistic!

Shaun

(c) 2007 Shaun G. Jamison
www.guideonyourside.com

May Day!

May Day is a lovely Holiday that has many different traditions attached to it. The one that I am thinking of today is secretly giving to your neighbors.

When I was a kid, it was great fun on May Day to sneak up to the neighbor's house, leave a basket of flowers, ring the doorbell and run away. Imagine a nice surprise of flowers and you don't know who gave them to you. No obligation to send a thank you note. No singling one person out to be thankful to (You have to be nice to everyone). Imagine being the person giving. Imagine the thrill of sneaking around and the joy of sharing.

Last year, I tried to explain St. Nick to the church children. Not Santa Claus, but the St. Nick from Turkey. He did many generous acts anonymously so people could save face and would be willing to accept his charity. The idea of anonymous giving drew blank stares. The problem is just talking about it isn't enough. So this May Day, the girls and I snuck around to give gifts to some of our neighbors. It was a blast! I hope it was as much fun for the receivers as the givers, but I'll never know. Just to be on the safe side, we left an explanation of May Day for our "victims."

There are many ways to experience a pure act of giving. May Day is a great excuse to find your own way of giving.

Peace,

Shaun


Shaun G. Jamison (c) 2007
www.guideonyourside.com